2/24/2023
Preschool
Lots of learning through play in PreK this week. They worked together to build a block city!!! The weather was perfect for lots of outdoor lessons and play. The students read many books, but their favorite was The Book With No Pictures. They even illustrated our funny words on our morning work! The students also began a study on Ocean Animals! They learned about the three sections of the ocean, about animals and what they eat, and that boy seahorses carry babies! They worked on 1 to 1 counting, writing their names, letters H and I, and did some watercolor painting outside in the beautiful weather.
Kindergarten
This week the kindergarten students have been reviewing 3d shapes and comparing 2d and 3d shape attributes. They have had a great time singing and dancing to this 3d shape song https://youtu.be/guNdJ5MtX1A The students learned that 2nd trimester takes a long time to assess for report cards, that’s for sure! They learned about other cultures having different types of lunches to experience. Not everyone eats the same kinds of foods and we need to accept that as a good difference. Something new to try some day! The class learned that the letter y can make the i or e sound at the end of a word and that is a different phonics sound than they are used to. The children were introduced to clapping out syllables in long words.
First Grade
This week 1st grade has enjoyed the beautiful weather. They worked on character, setting and problem when reading a story. They finished their subtraction unit this week, and took their math fact practice outside this week!!! On Thursday they did their silent reading and math outside. What a great way to end our week!
Second Grade
2nd graders enjoyed heart healthy fruits and vegetables, along with a few treats to celebrate those good Valentine’s day vibes! Students sampled an entire rainbow of foods that help provide growing bodies with wonderful vitamins and minerals. What a great day! Thank you Van Buren families for donating these fresh treats for us to eat
Third Grade
This week in third grade students have been studied theme, suffixes and prefixes. These are some skills that they need to understand as they gear up to take the IREAD test in a couple of weeks. The 3rd grade students are working on equivalent fractions in math.
Fourth Grade
In 4th grade we are working on identifying Theme and Morals in the things that we read. The students are using Aesop’s Fables and Pixar Shorts to help. In writing the students are continuing to work through their Narrative Unit. The 4th graders have been using a BTE outline and currently working on our “T” paragraphs. Mrs. Sawyer challenged the students to write 7 sentences in each paragraph, and they all have blown her away! The details and descriptions in their stories are amazing! Fourth grade mathematicians learned their third and final method for solving division problems…the standard algorithm. Division is not easy. It includes many steps, but the students are persevering. That’s the important part. Perseverance! In Social Studies, the students learned about how President’s Day came to be a federal holiday.
Fifth Grade
This week in 5th grade ELA class students have been wrapping up their units in DOL and reading. They have been assessing students’ reading levels and have seen a great deal of growth over the past 6 months. The students are looking forward to the 3rd trimester and the continuous growth and improvement that these awesome 5th graders will show. In 5th grade math this week, the students wrapped up their geometry unit and began a fraction unit! The students are currently reviewing fractions and doing very well!
In social studies they learned the difference between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. They explored the Bill of Rights and analyzed the preamble. The students even interpreted the preamble using their own artwork.
In other news, students explored their RIASEC scores and looked at different jobs that might fit our personality and brainstormed a list of traits that might be beneficial for those jobs.
Science
Kindergarten – This week the students finished their houses making sure they met our goals for structure and function. Students have been doing a great job being engineers and keeping the purpose and goal in mind. After completing the houses, they added some finishing touches and prepared them for testing. Next week the Big Bad Wolf will pay a visit and everyone will see how their houses hold up to his mighty wind.
1st Grade – After being introduced to migration and hibernation last week, this week the students learned more in depth about hibernation. They learned why it is that some animals hibernate and some don’t. They also learned what animals need before they can hibernate. They played a fun science game called Brown Bear Black Bear where students needed to get food for their bear and make sure they were prepared for hibernation.
2nd Grade – This week students started the process of building their PLTW devices. They finished going through the design process. This week students also learned how engineers research to find out how other people have solved the same or similar problem to what they have solved. Students will build their final design next week.
3rd Grade – This week the students finished their glider designs. They also, like some of our other grades, finished their research on how others solved similar problems to what they are facing. They shared designs with partners and picked final designs. The students are not ready to build their final glider from their final design. Next week they will finish building and then test their designs to make sure they solved their PLTW proposed problem.
4th Grade – This week the students finished their lessons on weathering which is part of our unit on the Birth of Rocks. Their unit is focusing on geological forces and how they shape our earth (including shaping rocks) suddenly and over time. They went from weathering to learning about landslides. They learned what causes landslides and how they can affect people and communities. They finished the week brainstorming ideas that they as scientist could use the help with landslides.
5th Grade – The students spent this week further developing their mechanical tests and building them. Students began to work on creating documents that will explain to other groups in the room how their tests work and how to conduct them. They did this so that once our mechanical testing creation is finished, they can have other groups in the room conduct the test created by other students. Students also worked on ways they can collect data from their tests and how they can use that data to make conclusions about tested materials and the test itself. Mr. Brown said that he “can’t tell you enough how much these students are enjoying getting to create these mechanical tests that will be used by other students. They are also getting to experience what happens in the real world with product testing and engineering practices. This is already building them up to be college and career ready later on in life. They really seem to love and enjoy this project.”
School Nurse
The Mobile Dentist is coming back to Van Buren! Please remember to complete your registration paper and send it back to the school. These are due in by Feb 20th.
This week the Health Room has started seeing the stomach bug. This is not uncommon for this time of year, however it’s never a fun experience. Remember to keep hydrated, popsicles are a good way to rehydrate gently. We do ask that the students be vomit free for 24 hours before returning to school, this will help reduce the spread.
Please remind student to wash their hands often.
